So my fuel level sensor had the common misread and would not move past the 3/4 full mark. After reading the DIY notes (great info there) I decided to pull out the sender and have a look.
The sender unscrewed with no issue and a very large pair of channel-locks. I took the assembly over to the bench and put a meter on it. The resistance swung wildly most of the range of the arm, but was most inconsistent about where the 3/4 mark would be.
I pulled the metal rod/float out of the sender assembly (pulls right up) which fully exposed the "rheostat" surface and contact. I took a new pencil eraser and went to town on both sides and contacts and they shined right up. I then also gently tweaked the contact tabs a little to put more pressure on the other facing contact surface.
Put the meter back on it and it read a very smooth ~0 ohms (empty) to about 133k (full). No jumping around. This can be done with a digital meter but is much easier to see with an old-school analog meter.
Installed it back in the car, tested and all looks good. It was reading about an 1/8th of a tank before I started and went immediately to 2/3 of a tank. Tomorrow I'll fill it up and see what happens.
Sorry I don't have pictures, but a picture of the sender in one of the DIY's should help.
Very cool, thanks for the added info and good explanation. Your description probably can go right under the existing sticky...why recycle when you can reuse, and why replace when you can repair!
Probably worthwhile to put the ohmmeter on yours before you start tearing it apart, though. If you get the wild variation, then give mpr's trick a try!
Take care and enjoy the ride,
Greg
__________________ If the only prayer you say in your life is thank you, that would suffice. Meister Eckhart
When you learn from your own mistakes, that's experience.
When you learn from the mistakes of others, that's wisdom.
When you fail to learn from any mistakes, that's government.
So my fuel level sensor had the common misread and would not move past the 3/4 full mark. After reading the DIY notes (great info there) I decided to pull out the sender and have a look.
The sender unscrewed with no issue and a very large pair of channel-locks. I took the assembly over to the bench and put a meter on it. The resistance swung wildly most of the range of the arm, but was most inconsistent about where the 3/4 mark would be.
I pulled the metal rod/float out of the sender assembly (pulls right up) which fully exposed the "rheostat" surface and contact. I took a new pencil eraser and went to town on both sides and contacts and they shined right up. I then also gently tweaked the contact tabs a little to put more pressure on the other facing contact surface.
Put the meter back on it and it read a very smooth ~0 ohms (empty) to about 133k (full). No jumping around. This can be done with a digital meter but is much easier to see with an old-school analog meter.
Installed it back in the car, tested and all looks good. It was reading about an 1/8th of a tank before I started and went immediately to 2/3 of a tank. Tomorrow I'll fill it up and see what happens.
Sorry I don't have pictures, but a picture of the sender in one of the DIY's should help.
M
Glad to hear it worked out well. I have a question or 2.
To get to the fuel sender is it inside the fender on the passenger side just where the gas cap is? How long did it take you to take off the inside of the fender and do the job completely? Any surprises? I plan on doing my car this weekend.
Thank-You.
Glad to hear it worked out well. I have a question or 2.
To get to the fuel sender is it inside the fender on the passenger side just where the gas cap is? How long did it take you to take off the inside of the fender and do the job completely? Any surprises? I plan on doing my car this weekend.
Thank-You.
The sender is in the trunk.
Make sure that there is less than 1/2 tank of gas or you will have a mess when you pull the sender.
Remove the trunk trim panel behind the rear seat, pull sender plug, use large channel lock pliers to turn ring and it comes right out.
10 minute job to get it out.
Look in the DIY section as I believe the instructions are there or do a search.
Put the meter back on it and it read a very smooth ~0 ohms (empty) to about 133k (full). No jumping around. This can be done with a digital meter but is much easier to see with an old-school analog meter.
M
I checked mine after cleaning it and I get totally different measurements than you did. It may be my lack of ohms knowledge, but I show .20 at empty(arm hanging down) to .00 at full (arm held up) with a digital meter which is all I have.
I don't see any change in my gas gauge. Is it time to just get a new unit?
I checked mine after cleaning it and I get totally different measurements than you did. It may be my lack of ohms knowledge, but I show .20 at empty(arm hanging down) to .00 at full (arm held up) with a digital meter which is all I have.
I don't see any change in my gas gauge. Is it time to just get a new unit?
Assuming your VOM is working and that mpr2007's sender unit reflects the correct resistance, then I would conclude that yours is bad, the ~0 reading is at the wrong end of the measurement and the range sounds wrong as well.
At least Autohaus has the replacement so you're not stuck with stealer pricing: Fuel Sender Unit)
Take care and enjoy the ride,
Greg
Addendum: Maybe they do. For some reason it shows that unit for the 320, but no listing for the 430. You might call and ask them. Might as well order the O ring at the same time.
Assuming your VOM is working and that mpr2007's sender unit reflects the correct resistance, then I would conclude that yours is bad, the ~0 reading is at the wrong end of the measurement and the range sounds wrong as well.
At least Autohaus has the replacement so you're not stuck with stealer pricing: Fuel Sender Unit)
Take care and enjoy the ride,
Greg
Well that's just it. Which end should resistance be higher? I would think it should be higher at full (arm is getting resistance from fuel), but why would mine be the exact opposite?
ETA: I see German Star and Autohaus have the same part for the same amount when shipping is figured and they are both in AZ. Are they separate companies? Which one is a sponsor here, if any?
Well that's just it. Which end should resistance be higher? I would think it should be higher at full (arm is getting resistance from fuel), but why would mine be the exact opposite?
ETA: I see German Star and Autohaus have the same part for the same amount when shipping is figured and they are both in AZ. Are they separate companies? Which one is a sponsor here, if any?
It's not measuring the resistance of fuel (running electrical current through the gas would be a bad idea in any case) but that is just the design. Yours is the exact opposite I could only conclude because...it doesn't work.
Linear Mode
